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Pituitary-testicular axis dysfunction in spinal cord injury
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
|September 1, 1980
Summary
Spinal cord injury impacts hormone levels. Quadriplegic patients experience prolonged low testosterone, while paraplegic patients recover hormone levels within weeks.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Neuroscience
- Urology
Background:
- Spinal cord injury (SCI) can disrupt hormonal balance.
- The hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis is crucial for reproductive health and hormone regulation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of spinal cord injury on serum hormone levels (testosterone, LH, FSH) and urinary 17-ketosteroids.
- To compare hormonal changes in paraplegic versus quadriplegic individuals post-injury.
Main Methods:
- Serum and urine samples were collected weekly for 4 months from newly injured paraplegic and quadriplegic subjects.
- Hormone concentrations were compared to age-matched healthy controls.
- Chronic SCI patients (1-6 years post-injury) were also assessed.
Main Results:
- Paraplegic subjects showed transient decreases in LH, FSH, and testosterone post-injury, with levels normalizing within weeks.
- Quadriplegic subjects exhibited significantly lower serum testosterone throughout the 4-month study period.
- Chronic quadriplegic subjects had depressed serum LH levels compared to controls.
Conclusions:
- Quadriplegia leads to a prolonged disruption of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis.
- The severity and duration of hormonal disturbances differ between paraplegia and quadriplegia.
- Urinary 17-ketosteroid levels fluctuated and were generally lower in paraplegic subjects.